It's tyrosine!

This morning while my coffee was brewing, I stared lazily at a rind of aged gouda sitting on the counter (need to clean the kitchen--bad) and thought, "That was a good cheese. It had those little crunchy bits in it. I wonder what those are? I like gritty gouda. Hmm...gritty gouda sounds funny, tee hee." Then the coffee was done and I went about getting ready for my day.

Then this afternoon rolls around, and the answer to my musings this morning shows up in my google reader! And as you might have guessed from the title of this post, those gritty bits are called tyrosine. Mystery solved via the kitchn.

Look over there!

I wrote a guest post on Angela's blog today about...drumroll please...whipped egg whites.

Check it out.

Oh, and that is my black Pomeranian, Aiden, who just got a haircut for spring. Isn't he the cutest?!?!?

Best Leftovers Ever, Maybe?

I went out for dinner Friday night and had prime rib for the first time. Holy moly was it good, if not in dinosaur proportions. No complaining from me, though, because these leftovers are, dare I say it, better than when I had it at the restaurant?

I seared the edges to slightly heat the steak through and served it atop a bed of tender baby greens that had been liberally tossed with a homemade sherry vinaigrette and a generous handful of crumbled blue cheese. YUM.

I originally bought sherry vinegar to make ratatouille, so I was glad to finally get around to making something else with it. Move over favorite Caesar dressing, because this one is quickly climbing the ranks.

Sherry Vinaigrette
Note: As with most dressings (well, and with anything), this one was made with what I happened to have on hand. I imagine a lot of people would add fresh herbs, garlic, and whatever proportions of vinegar:oil. I tend to like a 1:2.

About 1/4 c sherry vinegar
Lots of black pepper, or to taste
salt, to taste
1 packet Splenda or equivalent
About 1 T dijon mustard
About 1/2 c olive oil

As always, first whisk together all ingredients except oil, then slowly stream in oil while continuing to whisk until you reach desired consistency.

Asian Steak (or Chicken) Salad with Cucumber and Napa Cabbage

Despite cold winds and dreary skies, there's nothing like the end of the holidays to get me craving foods that are healthy and fresh. Anticipating such, the January issue of Everyday Food included a recipe for Asian Steak Salad with Cucumber and Napa Cabbage (p. 97). Chicken breast was a no-brainer substitute for the steak, and the only other change I made, anyone could guess--a lot more heat.

I like this recipe, and many others like it from Everyday Food, because of the short ingredients list, quick cooking times, and easy adaptability (I say this every time, but it still holds true!). Though I liked the bright acidity of the dressing, next time I would like to add lots of chopped cilantro, a few freshly sliced jalapeños and additional toasted sesame oil. Even better! As a final note, I should add that this is a great meal to take to work for lunch. I can always appreciate a meal that travels well.

From Everyday Food, January 2008, p. 97

1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
2 T vegetable oil
1 T toasted sesame oil
red pepper flakes (I used over a teaspoon)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 pound flank steak (or chicken)
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 pound napa cabbage, thinly sliced crosswise
English cucumber, thinly sliced
Unsalted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped, for garnish

Whisk together ingredients lime juice through garlic to make the marinade. Place chicken or steak in ziploc bag and pour in half of marinade mixture and the soy sauce. Reserve remaining marinade for dressing. Marinate in the fridge for one hour up to overnight.

Once marinated, cook chicken over medium heat on the stovetop. Meanwhile, slice cabbage and cucumber and toss together with peanuts and reserved marinade. Top salad with cooked chicken. I drizzled additional toasted sesame oil over the top as well.

Roasted Ratatouille with Pancetta Stuffed with Goat Cheese

As I mentioned last week, I am "cooking the book," Everyday Dining with Wine. One thing I am finding I like about this book is that it emphasizes wine-friendly combinations of flavors more than it teaches novel cooking methods, so the ideas are easily adapted and don't require you to closely follow a recipe. An example of this, probably my favorite to date, is roasted ratatouille. Since the kid's movie this summer, ratatouille has been at the forefront of food blogs everywhere, though I never jumped on the bandwagon until now.

This roasted version appeals to me simply because roasting is my favorite method of cooking any and all vegetables. Brocollini? Yup. Cauliflower. Done it. Asparagus? Always. Brussels sprouts? My favorite. You get the idea... What's not to love about a high oven temperature's way of pulling out deep, nutty flavors and caramelizing vegetables, leaving a crunchy brown crust? Exactly.

The addition of high quality sherry vinegar, crispy pancetta and tangy goat cheese make this particular ratatouille a home run.

Roasted Ratatouille with Pancetta Stuffed with Goat Cheese
Any mix of the following: yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, all diced the same size (I used one eggplant, 1 yellow squash, and 2 small zucchini)
1 shallot, diced
2-3 T sherry vinegar
extra virgin olive oil, enough to coat vegetables
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
soft goat cheese
pancetta
fresh parsley

Toss the diced vegetables and shallot with enough olive oil to coat and several tablespoons of sherry vinegar. Season liberally with salt and pepper, and roast in a roasting pan for about 40 minutes (I think I used a temperature of 450, but I'm not sure). To ensure even browning, stir vegetables every 10 minutes.

With the goat cheese, form small patties the size of the pancetta. Sandwich the goat cheese between two slices of pancetta and cook in a skillet on medium-high, about 2-3 minutes per side or until the pancetta is crisp.

Top the ratatouille with the goat cheese stuffed pancetta and fresh chopped parsley and serve. The vegetables would be equally good if you sprinkled them with crisped pancetta and crumbled goat cheese, but I thought the patties made for a more unique presentation.

Leftovers? Use them for an omelet!

Scrambled Eggs with Spanish Chorizo and Manchego Frico

Though I haven't joined one, I am thrilled with the trend emerging from online food communities: Cook the Book Clubs. A good example is at Loulies, offered here. The premise is simple: for one month, cook everything you can out of a single cookbook and optionally share your experiences with others doing the same.

I love cookbooks, and even though I'm not yet a full-fledged collector, I already have more than I regularly use. How does this happen? I get a new cookbook, get my panties in a twist about making everything in it, then for the next year or more it gathers dust on my shelf and a good splattering of grease (note to self: get books away from the stove!).

Well, the "cook the book" idea has been nagging at me for months, so this last week I took several minutes to degrease and dust a cookbook my dad gave to me last year for Christmas (he even got it signed by the author, aww), Everyday Dining with Wine. Armed with determination and a grocery list to drain my newly plumped checking account, I set out to cook several meals from it in December. Oh boy, have I begun to do just that.

The meals are decidedly simple but emphasize quality ingredients and classic methods. I have found the "everyday" aspect is in regards to the modestly priced wine recommendations and not necessarily the ingredients. Expensive vinegars and oils abound, though I happily oblige since reading David Lebovitz' blog post, "10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Cooking," specifically numbers two and four, "upgrade your oil" and "rethink your vinegar." Come to think of it, I have started cooking with a lot of shallot as well, so that knocks out number three without even trying!

The scrambled eggs with Spanish chorizo and manchego frico called out to me in the beginning because I never realized there were different kinds of chorizo. I never even ate chorizo until I lived in Austin in a Mexican community and shopped at grocery stores that offered cases of it. Jimmy Dean even sells chorizo, though in places like Seattle you would never know it (but really, we want the real thing anyway. Sorry, Jimmy). I have since learned that I was eating Mexican chorizo, which is an uncooked variety of chorizo, one which the Spanish would call chorizo fresco. This time around, my more equipped self sought out Spanish chorizo, which is cured. I couldn't find Spanish chorizo, or Manchego cheese for that matter, at Safeway but had luck with both at the gourmet market.

The combination of flavors in these scrambled eggs makes it so much more than "scrambled eggs." It becomes a perfect breakfast-for-supper dish, especially on those nights that you are short on time or just feel lazy. The frico is really just a fancy word for cheese crisp. Manchego is a sheep's milk cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain, and broken over fluffy eggs laced with heat and spice from the sausage, offers a unique peppery bite. My food substitution book suggests Monterey Jack as a replacement, though I don't think it would suffice in this case.


Scrambled Eggs with Spanish Chorizo and Manchego Frico
2 eggs
1 ounce Manchego*, grated
1.5 ounces Spanish chorizo, diced
3 T red onion**, chopped
splash half and half
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
pepper and sea salt


To make the frico, heat grated Manchego in a small nonstick skillet until it melts into a lacy circle and begins to brown on one side. Remove from heat for about 30 seconds to let crisp, then flip and crisp on other side. Drain on paper towel.

Cook chorizo on medium heat until fat begins to render, then add chopped onion and cook until softened. Beat the eggs with splash of half and half and salt and pepper, and pour over softened onion and sausage. Scramble. Garnish cooked eggs with fresh chopped parsley and frico.

*The Manchego was difficult to grate. Next time I will freeze for 5-10 minutes just prior.
**A sweet yellow onion would have been ideal, had I had it on hand.

Pork Chops in Wine and Shallot Sauce

The guys in my office always get a scrunched up, incredulous look on their face when they ask me to go out for lunch and for the zillionth time I reply, "No thanks. I brought mine." I mean, really... sticky questionable meat from the dirty teriyaki place, or home-cooked pork chops drenched in a savory wine sauce with shallots? Yep. Me too.

This sauce is about as simple as it gets yet big on flavor. Cook the pork chops in some extra virgin olive oil, browning each side to get a nice golden brown crust. Once cooked through, remove the chops from the pan and add one chopped shallot, cooking for about one minute to let it soften before pouring in about a cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. Cook the wine down on medium heat until slightly thickened and darker in color, yielding about 1/3 of a cup. Remove the pan from heat and swirl in a generous pat of butter, about a tablespoon. Finish the sauce by adding salt and pepper to taste and a handful of fresh chopped parsley.

You'll never want to go out for lunch again, or at least not have a good excuse, because meals like this are just as easy and almost as fast as throwing together a PB&J. Another way to make brown bagging it less of a chore is to cook a couple servings at once to leave in the fridge at work. One less thing to remember in the morning, and more room in my purse for books to read on my commute. Now if only I could get the guys at work on board, or at least to stop giving me those weird faces!

Steak in Scotch Sauce

Cooking as a single person means two things:

1. You eat meals by your lonesome.
2. You end up eating the same thing for days because of this little thing that happens when you're only feeding one person--LEFTOVERS.

And for people like me who try to save money on staples so I can afford Manchego cheese, Spanish chorizo and Prosciutto di Parma (not to eat together, mind you), it means I buy in bulk, leaving my fridge at any one time full of 8 pork chops or 10 steaks. That's a lot of meat!

Yes, the obvious solution is to buy in bulk and freeze, but do people who suggest that really have room in their freezer? I certainly don't (mostly because there are two whole ducks in there that I don't know what to do with, but shhh. I'm legitimately complaining here!).

On to the steak in scotch sauce...

*draw parallel here* (I promise I'm not this literal all the time)

I recently bought steaks in bulk, and up to this point I have been coating them with Montreal Steak Seasoning and then searing them in butter and olive oil. It's probably one of my favorite foods, but I've hit the point of diminishing return and needed to diversify.

Meet my new pan. She's purdy. I've never had a skillet perfect for making pan sauces, so I was anxious to see what she could do. In an inhospitable turn of events last night, I was without wine at home so after searing and cooking my steak, I deglazed the pan with some Chevis, whisked in some splashes of cream, then swirled in some cold cubes of butter to finish (I didn't say it was low-fat!). Scotch sauce! The verdict? I was pleasantly surprised. It was incredibly rich, but my steak tasted much more out of a fancy restaurant than a value pack from Safeway. I wouldn't dare serve it to someone who doesn't care for scotch as the flavor was powerful, but I am a scotch drinking kind of girl, so it pleased my palate in just the right ways.

Montreal Steak Seasoning

Ok, so I'm stretching for content today, but why shouldn't everyone know how great McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning is? It's a delicious, coarsely ground blend of salt, pepper, and spices (I'd be more specific but not at my spice cabinet right now!). The name is somewhat deceiving in that it goes with a lot more than just steak. I enjoy it on pork, chicken, and veggies (roasted brussels sprouts!) equally as well.

One word of caution: Notice I did say that it is salty. The first time I used this I ruined my steak because I liberally coated the piece of meat like I was using Mrs. Dash, which is salt-free. Learned my lesson!

In any event, this blend is perfect for people like me with a sparse spice cabinet. Try it!

Favorite Caesar Salad

I've never been a huge fan of Caesar salad until I started making my own dressing; now, I can't make this salad enough. It's particularly great for me because it requires minimal ingredients, so it keeps me from having a fridge full of veggies that are only going to go rotten before I can eat all of them.

Favorite Caesar Salad Dressing
Whisk together the following:
2 egg yolks
anchovy paste (I squeeze out paste to about an inch to inch and a half)
juice of one small lemon
zest of small lemon
3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Then, slowly stream in extra virgin olive oil (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup) while whisking to emulsify.

Finally, whisk in 1/4-1/2 cup grated Parmesan.

You'll never buy bottled dressing again!

Straciatella (Italian Egg Drop Soup)

I stumbled upon recipes for Straciatella yesterday as I was trying to decide what I could make for lunch that only required one egg (all I had). This soup indeed doesn't really need a recipe, as at its bare minimum, it's really just some chicken stock/broth, an egg, some grated parmesan and a sprinkling of ordinary spices.

It was a simple, healthy lunch with a side of roasted asparagus, and although the soup tasted fine, I wasn't enthralled with how the egg cooked. Some recipes indicated that the egg would form into ribbons, such as in Chinese egg drop soup, yet others said the egg would "flake," which is what happened to mine. The taste was fine, though as you can tell from the photo, not nearly as appetizing as a soup should be.

I can only suspect that how the egg cooks has to do with the temperature of the broth or maybe the addition of semolina, as I noticed some versions included. In all the recipes, the egg is cooked by adding it slowly to the broth as you briskly stir it in a circular motion, so I know it can't be that.

Defeated attitude aside, it's a simple, quick soup that makes a meal out of one egg!

Straciatella
2-3 cups chicken stock/broth
1 egg
1/4 c grated parmesan
parsley, to taste (fresh would be best here)
salt, pepper, red chili flakes* to taste

Bring chicken stock to a boil over medium-high heat. In a bowl beat together egg with parmesan cheese and parsley. Reduce heat to low and slowly stream in egg mixture while stirring in a circular motion. Slowly keep stirring until egg is completely set. Season with salt and pepper and red chili flakes.

*I didn't see anyone else add these, but I think it's a must. The soup would have been so bland without it!

Cheesy Baked Puffed Eggs

There's something about lazy Sunday mornings that makes me want to whip up an egg breakfast. This week's recipe comes from the archives of Gourmet Magazine, September 2006. Gourmet calls for Cantal cheese (also known as Cantal de Salers and Fourme du Cantal), which is a semi-firm cow's milk cheese made in the Auvergne region of France.

I wasn't thinking ahead to make this recipe, so I didn't shop for Cantal; however, even if I had, I hardly ever splurge on nice cheese when I'm cooking for just little ol' me anyway. If you are looking to use Cantal but can't find it, The Food Substitution Bible offers the following stand-ins: Laguiole (sharper), Cheshire, Lancashire, or Cheddar(my note: a sharp, white Cheddar would probably be best). Seeing as I had not one of these on hand, I used some Tillamook Swiss I had leftover in the fridge (though next time I think I'd like something sharper, such as Jarlsberg). In addition to using a different cheese, I also modified the recipe to make one serving (just me!) instead of six and to fit a 12oz ramekin instead of the recipe's 8oz.

Cheesy Baked Puffed Eggs
Adapted from Gourmet's "Baked Eggs with Cantal Cheese"

2 eggs
salt, pinch
pepper, pinch
nutmeg, freshly grated, pinch
cream of tartar, pinch
1/2 c grated Swiss cheese
12 oz ramekin, buttered

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack placed in the middle position.

Separate the eggs, placing the egg whites in a mixing bowl and reserving one egg yolk in a bowl of cold water. To the egg whites, add the pinches of salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cream of tartar and with an electric mixer, beat until it forms stiff peaks. Gently fold in the Swiss cheese, reserving a tablespoon. Pour egg whites into buttered ramekin, smoothing out the top then creating a well in the center using a spoon.

Bake the egg whites for 5-6 minutes, then take out of oven and place the egg yolk(remove from water using your fingers) in the indentation you made and sprinkle top with reserved cheese. (Note: this step ensures that your egg yolk will not cook through. If you like less runny yolk, you can skip this step and fully assemble and bake for 13-16 minutes). Place back in oven and cook additional 8-10 minutes until whites are puffed and golden, and the egg yolk is still jiggly. Serve immediately.



Related content: Last Sunday's Herbed Baked Eggs

Frozen Margaritas

I've had a hormonal stressful and frustrating day today, which naturally got me thinking about margaritas. What bad mood can't be improved with lots of tequila and lime?

My parents would perhaps be embarrassed, but I'm going to say that margaritas could be considered to be a staple in their house. My dad's been blending up frozen margaritas several nights a week for as long as I can remember, often making multiple pitchers in one night for our small family (I am not complaining!).

Our classic family favorite is a simple frozen margarita that uses frozen limeade. When shopping for limeade, try to get a premium (e.g. Minute Maid) brand if you can--they say it does make a difference. On the other hand, as with all margaritas, premium tequila is not at all necessary, so don't waste your money.

Once you have a limeade margarita, you will never want to use a bottled margarita mix again!

Frozen Margaritas

Pour into a blender:
1 8oz can frozen limeade (not frozen margarita mix)
8 oz tequila (can use the empty limeade can to measure)
4 oz triple sec (or a half limeade can)

Fill blender to top with ice and blend until smooth. Easy, right?!? My own addition to my parent's recipe? A floater of tequila (here's where it pays to use the premium stuff!).

So here's a virtual cheers to banishing bad moods and spending time with family and friends!

Cozy Sunday Breakfast: Herbed Baked Eggs

This morning I pulled out my tired, overused frying pan and couldn't bear another breakfast of ruined over-easy eggs because my nonstick pan is nonstick no longer. Thinking for a moment, I remembered a recent episode of The Barefoot Contessa where she baked eggs in a gratin dish. Bingo.

Her recipe calls for heavy cream and lots of fresh herbs, all of which I had none, so I made do with what I had: half and half, butter, fresh garlic, dried basil and oregano and shredded parmesan.

The result was bubbling hot, creamy, perfectly runny eggs laden with herb-spiked gooey parmesan. What's not to like? The perfect breakfast to warm me up on this gray, chilly Seattle morning.

Lobster Sashimi for Dinner

...and monkfish liver, salmon roe, and deep-fried mackerel bones among other sashimi. The dinner lasted hours due to the many steps of preparation and gawking, but the time flew by.

The dinner began with the live lobster being ushered to the table on an enormous platter, a step I imagine that exists as proof of freshness. After we each held the flailing lobsters to get the obligatory "I'm going to eat this!" photo, they were swept back to the kitchen to be prepared as sashimi. The chef, Ken Zaburo (the restaurant's namesake), let me back in the kitchen to see the action.

The lobster's tail is expertly severed, the remainder of the lobster placed on a platter of crushed ice. The meat of the tail is removed from the shell using a knife and kitchen shears, then sliced into thin slices for serving.


The lobster sashimi is plated behind the still moving lobster, as even though the lobsters are dead when their tails are removed, their muscles continue to spasm. The taste was clean, while the texture was chewy, crunchy, and only the slightest bit rubbery.


The now half-eaten lobsters were once again whisked back to the kitchen for the final preparation step of our lobster dinner, returning cooked and drenched in butter over a large bed of flat noodles.


By this final course, I was absolutely stuffed as it was after we tackled a large platter of various sashimi, including the deep-fried mackerel bones and monkfish liver. The mackerel bone tasted like a kettle cooked potato chip, and the liver was silky in texture and not too fishy. I would have had more, but visions of the monkfish on display at Pike's Place Market kept my chopsticks away.


The experience was phenomenal--beyond delicious and memorable. Next time? Kobe beef sashimi. Who's hungry?

Grilled Goat Cheese Sandwich with Fig and Honey

The title says it all, does it not? This recipe from Cooking Light perhaps sounds strange, but the combination of ingredients have such a delicate balance of flavors. It's not too sweet, not too savory, but 100% decadent (without the guilt from grabbing a pastry at the coffee shop!)

I wouldn't change a thing from the recipe, but here's the quick rundown of what I did specifically:

-Using a spoon, mix a couple tablespoons of crumbled goat cheese with plenty of lemon zest and a good squeeze of honey to make it all stick together.

-It doesn't really spread easily, so use your (clean!)fingers to pat it down on a slice of cinnamon bread. I used Cinnabon brand cinnamon bread--I didn't miss the raisins.

-Spread a layer of fig preserves over the goat cheese and top with thinly sliced fresh basil (never substitute dried). I used about 3-4 leaves.

-Cook in a frying pan coated with nonstick cooking spray on medium-medium high, using a heavy pot to weigh the sandwich down and "smoosh" it together (I found my tea kettle filled with water was the perfect size).

-After cooking sandwich for 2-3 minutes each side, slice in half to make two triangles and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Note: Sorry about the bad picture...I was running late for the bus, so I had to snap quick!

French Onion Soup

It's been cold and rainy all week, so I wanted to make a simple, warm, one-pot dish for dinner. Since I am forever crushing on Tyler Florence, I browsed his recipes from Tyler's Ultimate and stumbled upon his version of French onion soup. I say "his version," but after some research, I found that his recipe is more or less the standard.

The best part of making this soup? I made a half-batch, which means that I only needed 1/2 cup of red wine, leaving the rest of the bottle for me to drink (convenient!). After having a bowl of soup, some bites of Italian sausage, and a bottle of wine, I have to admit scooping some onions from the pot of soup and piling them on a slice of leftover baguette was a brilliant idea (but you didn't hear it from me!).


French Onion Soup: Half-batch Version
Heavily inspired by Tyler Florence's recipe

1/4 c unsalted butter
2-2 1/4 pounds onions,* sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 c red wine**
1 heaping T all-purpose flour
1 quart high quality beef broth
baguette, sliced
1/4 pound Gruyere

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized (this took about 35 minutes for me). Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

In the meantime, grate the Gruyere (or peel into ribbons using a vegetable peeler, as I did) and top the baguette slices (be generous!). Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Top off your bowls of soup with the cheesy baguette, and you're done!

*I looked all over the Internet to find out what kind of onions to use, and no one knows. Yellow (non-sweet, i.e. not Vidalias) seemed to be the most common recommendation, followed by red onions. I chose to use both--two yellow and one red.
**I used a mid-range Washington Merlot, though any reasonably dry, red wine that you would drink (important!) would be delicious.

loaded caprese sandwich

This sandwich is so good, I made it three times over the course of last weekend as well as shared it with two different friends. One of my best girlfriends invited me to an outdoor concert, and since she typically doesn't eat meat, I was trying to think of simple, vegetarian foods for our picnic dinner that wouldn't leave me feeling meat-deprived. Caprese salad is a staple for me, and though a caprese salad sandwich is nothing unique, I did add several ingredients to make it my own.

On crusty french bread I stacked the fresh mozzarella, lots of fresh basil, thick and juicy tomato slices, roasted red bell peppers, and a mound of caramelized red onions (something I tend to add to nearly everything I make these days). I also added some sliced grilled chicken breast (to mine), and one of the (three!) times I had it, I also included slices of fresh avocado. Yum.

Perfect, light summer meal that I was able to enjoy while making joyful memories. I was with my best friend at the outdoor concert, giddy and silly from drinking vodka, laughing at the people around us, and simply enjoying laying on a lawn listening to live music and sharing good food and conversation.

My favorite thing about cooking...or even putting together a sandwich...is sharing it with people I care about. Life doesn't get any better!

balsamic strawberries, goat cheese, and toasted walnuts over mixed baby greens

Before I left for a work trip last week, I had made some balsamic strawberries from this recipe from Ina Garten, but I never got around to eating them. After coming home from the grocery store, I was cleaning out the fridge and was planning on throwing them out; after all, they had been there for a week!! I'm not sure if it was safe to eat (though vinegar preserves, right?), but wow, were those strawberries good! The balsamic and sugar turned into a sweet, thick glaze and the strawberries were still as tender and fresh as the day I bought them.

I made a simple salad by topping some mixed baby greens with the strawberries, crumbled goat cheese, toasted walnuts, and lots of freshly cracked pepper. The glaze/syrup was so good, I just used that as a dressing though some oil mixed in would have been equally good. I'm happy I bought another pound of strawberries on my shopping trip so I can make another batch!

crostini with sundried tomato jam and goat cheese

In a rush so I can't write as much as I'd like, but I just had to share the wonderful dinner I had last night. I will try almost any recipe that features caramelized onions, so when I saw this recipe on Everyday Italian earlier in the week I knew I had to try it out.

It did not disappoint! The tender chunks of sun-dried tomatoes coupled with the soft, flavorful onions, all topped with cool goat cheese made for the best crostini I've had in a very long time. The jam can be used for a lot more than the crostini.


The jam added just the right amount of sweetness to my peppery tenderloin steaks, a welcomed change from my usual caramelized onions and red peppers. It also made a great breakfast on some leftover, untoasted baguette smeared with cream cheese.



To wash it all down? The lucky girl that I am, I have a generous boss who brought back a case of wine from his trip to the Oregon wine country for the office to share. A heavenly combination.